Faith
by daughterofmars
Summary: Himeko spares a moment to think about who she is waiting for and why... ficlet.


**Prompt: **Application for Himeko at polychromatic at livejournal. I had to write a log showing off Himeko's character as portrayed at the end of episode 12, after she lost all memories of Chikane. I was accepted, but will probably never use this log for anything. It was too pretty not to share. Himeko is love after all.

**Dedication: **My very own Chikane-chan. K. You know I love you. And I waited such a long time, but at the end I found you anyway.

**Notes: **Takes place right after the memoriable scene in episode 12, when Himeko _finally _turns Souma down for real. Before returning to her dorm and dear Mako-chan, she stays for a little while on that hill with the perfect view of Mahoroba and thinks a little about who she's waiting for and why.

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**Faith**

by daughterofmars aka shoujo-ai no shijin

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_"See you later, Oogami-kun!"_

Waving her arm in farewell, only letting it drop when Souma's motorcycle has become a spec in the distance, Himeko sighs. She feels sorry about having to turn Oogami-kun down like that when he's always been there for her... through all those rough years after her parents died. He had comforted her whenever she was sad, pedalling all the way to the ocean with her clinging to him on the bike. Trouble, that's all she's ever caused him, Himeko knows, and yet he's never complained. Even though she has never done anything of worth to help him like he's helped her... so many times...

Oogami-kun... she almost wishes he _were_ the one she's waiting for, if simply so she wouldn't have to disappoint him even more. However, it can't be helped. Himeko will have to wait. The vision, both vivid and blurry in her memory, doesn't feel like Souma and thus she must wait with finding out who it is...

Maybe Mako-chan is right. Maybe Himeko is being overly silly about this. But...

_"Do you know the game of Kaiawase? I think people can be treated the same way..."_

Himeko doesn't remember who once told her this. It could be her father, back when he made the seashell pendant for her. After all, she doesn't remember all that much about him... For a long time, Himeko didn't understand those words. How could you compare songs to people? After she saw that vision, though, she thinks whoever said it is right. Like with the two parts of a song in Kaiawase that only fit perfectly with each other... people are like that, too. They can fit together in many combinations, but there's only one true match.

Mako-chan can think it's stupid as much as she wants. Maybe it even _is_ stupid... many things about Himeko are, when all comes down to it. Himeko waits anyway.

She closes her eyes and tries calling forth the gir... the _person_ in her vision. It hardly ever works for her, the details slipping away between her fingers. Like moonlight. Out of reach. Then again, Himeko is aware that she's never been a very focused person. Not like Mako-chan who's strong and can forget about everything else when she runs, concentrating solely on moving forward.

Himeko isn't like that. There's always an unexplainable melancholy in her heart that distracts her - like when she takes pictures and ends up zooming in on the small puppy next to the flowers, not the flowers themselves. If she were more like Mako-chan, perhaps she wouldn't be so clumsy... and she definitely wouldn't be as much of an inconvenience to people...

No matter how hard she tries, the image keeps escaping her mind. She wants to remember, but can't...

Finally giving up, Himeko takes a deep breath. Behind her, the sun is setting. Mako-chan will be worried if Himeko doesn't get home soon - even more so now when she's anxiously waiting to find out what Oogami-kun wanted. Not that Himeko can bring her any news that she'll like, but still... if Mako-chan gets too worried, she'll skip her evening run to search for her - she'd probably call Oogami-kun as well and then they'd both come look for her...

She always causes trouble for others.

_"You're a dork,"_ Mako-chan will tell her when she finds out. About Souma-kun and about Himeko's thoughts. Himeko closes her eyes against the sharp, warm sunlight, giggling to herself. Around her, the wind picks up speed, bringing with it unfamiliar scents. Himeko can't help it. The voice who told her about Kaiawase such a long time ago that she no longer recalls anything but the words is too... too... Himeko trusts it for reasons she can't explain. She just instinctively knows it's true.

Pressing her fingers to the pink seashell hanging around her neck, she smiles. In this world, somewhere, someone is waiting - like Himeko is waiting. Right now she might not know who it is, but at that time... Yes, Himeko believes; believes that when they meet, she'll know. They'll both know.

_For sure._

Finished, but never ending, their story is a cycle after all...


End file.
